Multiple heap-based overflows have been found in the tiff library image decoding routines, potentially allowing to execute arbitrary code with the rights of the user viewing a malicious image.

Background

The tiff library contains encoding and decoding routines for the Tag Image File Format. It is called by numerous programs, including GNOME and KDE, to help in displaying TIFF images. xv is a multi-format image manipulation utility that is statically linked to the tiff library.

A remote attacker could entice a user to view a carefully crafted TIFF image file, which would potentially lead to execution of arbitrary code with the rights of the user viewing the image. This affects any program that makes use of the tiff library, including GNOME and KDE web browsers or mail readers.